Biography
Though first categorized narrowly as deep-house creators, the Iranian-American pair Deep Dish shaped a house aesthetic that traversed trance, techno, and subterranean dub registers, amassing numerous club staples across the 1990s and cultivating an impressive catalog on their own imprints—Deep Dish, Yoshitoshi, Fast Food, and Middle East—via contributors drawn from the expanding Washington, D.C. dance circle. While the majority of Dubfire and Sharam’s output carries the sweeping, expansive character linking countless house productions to their disco predecessors, the duo’s precision in arrangement and cross-genre synthesis elevated them beyond most contemporaries on the dance charts.
Ali “Dubfire” Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi both entered the world in Iran, yet their trajectories converged at a 1991 dance gathering in Washington, D.C.; at that point each was already active in the local DJ circuit and holding retail positions they found unrewarding. They established Deep Dish Records in 1992, launching the label with Moods’ “A Feeling.” In 1993 an erstwhile schoolmate of Ali’s, Brian Transeau, supplied “A Moment of Truth” and “Relativity” to the imprint; both tracks circulated the Deep Dish aesthetic across dancefloors, while an exchange of mixes with Detroit producer Carl Craig further bolstered the duo’s underground standing. By 1994 Dubfire and Sharam presided over the D.C. house landscape and launched the Yoshitoshi subsidiary to showcase sympathetic artists including Submarine, Satori, Alcatraz, and Hani. The same year, DJ legend Danny Tenaglia persuaded Tribal UK Records to commit Deep Dish to its fledgling Tribal America offshoot, yielding dance-chart entries such as “High Frequency” and “Casa de X.” Deep Dish also delivered their first full-length mix projects in 1995, overseeing compilations for Tribal America (Penetrate Deeper) and Slip ’N’ Slide (Undisputed).
De’lacy’s 1995 single “Hideaway” effectively launched Deep Dish into commercial and mainstream-dance prominence; their remix climbed the pop listings and generated extensive additional remix assignments for Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Kristine W., Everything But the Girl, the Beloved, and the Shamen—Deep Dish even reworked Brian Transeau’s collaboration with Tori Amos, “Blue Skies.” Dubfire and Sharam extended their mix-album credits with another Tribal America volume (1996’s In House We Trust) and one for Deconstruction (Cream Separates) the following year. Just as Deep Dish seemed poised to issue only occasional mix collections, the pair completed their first proper studio album, Junk Science, in 1998. Maintaining momentum, they issued consecutive mix sets—Yoshiesque, Renaissance Ibiza, and a second Yoshiesque—by 2001.
That year also brought their initial Remixer of the Year Grammy nomination for treatments of Madonna’s “Music” and Amber’s “Sexual (La Da Di).” A remix of Dido’s “Thank You” secured the Grammy the next year, coinciding with their Global Underground: Moscow mix CD receiving Dancestar USA’s Best Compilation honor. A third Yoshiesque installment appeared in 2003 alongside three distinct editions of Global Underground: Toronto—one joint set from the duo and individual solo mixes from Dubfire and Sharam. The pair ultimately pursued separate paths to explore solo endeavors, remaining apart until they reconvened more than a decade later for the March 2014 single “Quincy.” That same month Deep Dish delivered their first Essential Mix since 2008 on BBC Radio 1 with Pete Tong.
Ali “Dubfire” Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi both entered the world in Iran, yet their trajectories converged at a 1991 dance gathering in Washington, D.C.; at that point each was already active in the local DJ circuit and holding retail positions they found unrewarding. They established Deep Dish Records in 1992, launching the label with Moods’ “A Feeling.” In 1993 an erstwhile schoolmate of Ali’s, Brian Transeau, supplied “A Moment of Truth” and “Relativity” to the imprint; both tracks circulated the Deep Dish aesthetic across dancefloors, while an exchange of mixes with Detroit producer Carl Craig further bolstered the duo’s underground standing. By 1994 Dubfire and Sharam presided over the D.C. house landscape and launched the Yoshitoshi subsidiary to showcase sympathetic artists including Submarine, Satori, Alcatraz, and Hani. The same year, DJ legend Danny Tenaglia persuaded Tribal UK Records to commit Deep Dish to its fledgling Tribal America offshoot, yielding dance-chart entries such as “High Frequency” and “Casa de X.” Deep Dish also delivered their first full-length mix projects in 1995, overseeing compilations for Tribal America (Penetrate Deeper) and Slip ’N’ Slide (Undisputed).
De’lacy’s 1995 single “Hideaway” effectively launched Deep Dish into commercial and mainstream-dance prominence; their remix climbed the pop listings and generated extensive additional remix assignments for Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Kristine W., Everything But the Girl, the Beloved, and the Shamen—Deep Dish even reworked Brian Transeau’s collaboration with Tori Amos, “Blue Skies.” Dubfire and Sharam extended their mix-album credits with another Tribal America volume (1996’s In House We Trust) and one for Deconstruction (Cream Separates) the following year. Just as Deep Dish seemed poised to issue only occasional mix collections, the pair completed their first proper studio album, Junk Science, in 1998. Maintaining momentum, they issued consecutive mix sets—Yoshiesque, Renaissance Ibiza, and a second Yoshiesque—by 2001.
That year also brought their initial Remixer of the Year Grammy nomination for treatments of Madonna’s “Music” and Amber’s “Sexual (La Da Di).” A remix of Dido’s “Thank You” secured the Grammy the next year, coinciding with their Global Underground: Moscow mix CD receiving Dancestar USA’s Best Compilation honor. A third Yoshiesque installment appeared in 2003 alongside three distinct editions of Global Underground: Toronto—one joint set from the duo and individual solo mixes from Dubfire and Sharam. The pair ultimately pursued separate paths to explore solo endeavors, remaining apart until they reconvened more than a decade later for the March 2014 single “Quincy.” That same month Deep Dish delivered their first Essential Mix since 2008 on BBC Radio 1 with Pete Tong.
Albums
Global Underground #49: Deep Dish - Dublin (DJ Mix)
2026
Global Underground #25: Deep Dish - Toronto
2016
George Is On
2005
Junk Science
1998
Singles
